


how the fuck do i do sign language, tubbo

by itisjosh



Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Best Friends, Deaf Character, Dumbasses, Family Dynamics, Fluff, Gen, Idiots in Love, PLATONICALLY IN LOVE, Sign Language, Sweet, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, chaotic idiots, for once, for reference i am not deaf, literally no angst, really shitty sign language, tell me if i got anything wrong :), they are best friends your honour, tommy doesn't know sign language lmao
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-18
Updated: 2020-10-18
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:05:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27090151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itisjosh/pseuds/itisjosh
Summary: Tubbo loses his hearing aids. Everything goes wrong from there.
Relationships: Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit
Comments: 43
Kudos: 1363





	how the fuck do i do sign language, tubbo

**Author's Note:**

> i am not deaf! tell me if i fucked something up massively :)  
> (beta-read by my deaf friend who's a prick and wouldn't help me. convo went like:  
> me: how much of this is accurate   
> him: not a lot but it's cute so post it  
> me: ??? no i want to fix it people will get angry with me if it's not accurate  
> him: shhh post the fic  
> me: please dear god tell me what i did wrong  
> him: post the fucking fic no one is going to care jfc)

Tubbo yawns, staring up at the ceiling as he starts to wake up. He rolls over, nearly tumbling off the couch when he does. Tommy always insists on him sleeping in his room, but that's just so Tommy can go bother Techno, and god does Techno need a good night's sleep. He sits up, glancing over at the open door to Phil's room. Phil always wakes up first, probably out of pure instinct and also for safety reasons. Tubbo knows that his friends are hazardous and should never, ever be left alone. He's well aware of it. Maybe he'll make Tommy stay inside for the day, just to give Phil a needed break.

"Hey, Tubbo," Phil signs, smiling at him. "Sleep well?"

"I did!" Tubbo signs back, beaming. He gets off of the couch, tossing the blanket back onto it. "Is anyone else up?" He asks, tilting his head to the side. He hasn't seen Tommy's door open, and he's assuming that Wilbur and Techno are probably downstairs. Techno has to be, at least. Tubbo knows very well that Techno is always up second, mostly to flee from the depths of his cave and run away from his little brothers. Phil gives him a half-hearted shrug, looking a little more tired than usual. Tubbo takes that as a yes, assuming that Tommy's probably up. He moves back to his spot on the couch, frowning when he doesn't see his hearing aids on the coffee table. What the..Tubbo scowls, ducking his head to look under the table. Nothing. "Phil," he signs, wishing he could project his annoyance better. "What the fuck."

Phil raises an eyebrow at him, coming to stand next to him. "What up?"

"Hearing aids," he signs, probably faster than he should. He knows that Phil can understand sign language perfectly fine, but he still moves too fast sometimes. It's probably the reason Tommy still hasn't managed to learn his own name. "Lost." Tubbo adds, moving to face the couch. He flips over the cushion, disappointed when he only finds a singular penny. Why the hell do they even have those here? They don't even have use. Whatever. Tubbo puts the cushions back down, glancing up at Phil.

"They in your bag?"

"No," Tubbo signs, patting himself down. He's only got his shirt pocket, and he never puts them there, anyways. He sighs, closing his eyes for half a second. "Fuck," Phil nods in agreement, turning to face Tommy's door. Tubbo can't hear him, _obviously_ , but he's fairly certain he's shouting. It's the only form of communication Tommy understands. A second later, Tommy storms out of his room, still half-asleep. "Hi, Tommy," Tommy stares at him, one eyebrow raised. "Hi, Tommy," Tubbo repeats, signing it slower this time. "Tommy." He tries, figuring he can at _least_ figure that word out. Tommy keeps staring at him, his face completely blank. Tubbo wishes he could be surprised. He starts to talk, too fast and too jittery for Tubbo to read. To be fair, his lip-reading skills are dodgy at best. He might as well draw a 't' in the air with his finger, but Tommy still might not understand that. Tommy's not slow - he's smart, really, he is. He's quick to pick up on things. Most things. This is one of those things that he's absolute shit at. 

Phil turns back to face him, very obviously unimpressed. "He said, and I'm quoting here, "how the fuck do I do sign language, Tubbo?"." Tubbo grins, annoyance melting away. Tommy always manages to make him feel better, even if he can't properly talk to him unless he's got his hearing aids. Which he doesn't. Right. 

"Tell him to look for my hearing aids," Tubbo signs, moving past the two of them. He knocks on Wilbur's door, hoping that it isn't too loud, but loud enough so Wilbur will actually hear him. A couple moments later, the door swings open, Wilbur beaming at him. He starts to talk, but ends up cutting himself off when he realises that Tubbo's not tracking. Thank god the rest of them can understand sign language. "Lost hearing aids," Tubbo explains, signing a little slower. Wilbur is fairly good with sign language, but it's still difficult for him. "Help?"

"Yeah. Of course." It's sloppy, but he understands. Tubbo's got no goddamn clue why Wilbur doesn't just nod or say yes, but whatever. It's probably because he's always been way too ambitious, even if he barely knows how to sign. At least he knows his name. He grabs Wilbur by the arm, dragging him back out into the living room. Tommy's entirely disappeared underneath of the couch, with only his legs sticking out. Phil's grabbing him by the legs, actually, clearly trying to drag him back out. Tubbo sighs. Maybe he should have just looked for them himself. He watches Wilbur yell for Techno, and sees the man a second later, trudging up the stairs. 

"Hearing aids." Tubbo explains, not bothering to slow down to simplify any of the words. 

Techno nods once, and then he's off searching, checking behind a desk. Techno is the only other person in the house who can actually use sign language perfectly. Phil's nearly perfect at it, but he still misses words sometimes. Not all that often, but sometimes. And then Tommy knows the word fuck at that's about it. Wilbur's getting a lot better, he's a very fast learner, but he still scuffs up his words a lot. Tubbo sometimes wonders why Techno knows sign language, but he isn't really going to question it. Techno knows a lot of things that he probably shouldn't, actually. He turns at the tap on his shoulder. "Where did you put them?" Techno signs, gesturing to the coffee table. "I saw them there. Did you check the drawer?"

"Yes," Tubbo confirms, sparing a glance at Tommy, who's still under the couch. "I checked twice. I don't know where else they would be."

"Did you put them in your pocket?" Techno raises an eyebrow. "That's where you put them last time."

Tubbo rolls his eyes, flipping Techno off. "I swear I didn't, not again. I remembered to check." 

Wait. He definitely didn't check his pocket. He was so certain that he didn't put them there, but what if he did? What if he...no. No, there's no way. No fucking way he did it again. Tubbo refuses to check, just for that reason. He's confident that they aren't there. He turns away from Techno, heaving a sigh. Time to keep looking.

* * *

"Tommy," Tubbo signs, holding one hand to his head. This is the worst thing he's ever done. He loves Tommy! He does, he absolutely loves his best friend to pieces. He loves Tommy so much. However, sometimes that love turns into pure rage, and right now, that's all it is. "Tommy," he repeats, signing it as slow as he possibly can. "Tommy." 

Tommy stares at him.

"Tommy," Tubbo signs, pointing to his friend. "Tubbo." He signs, pointing to himself.

"Tom," Tommy signs, sloppily and slowly, but he signs it anyways. Tubbo grins, excitement coursing through his veins. "Tom..y." 

"Tommy!" He signs excitedly, dragging his friend in for a hug. That's the most progress he's ever gotten out of him, and it was..it was readable! It was understandable! For the first fucking time, Tommy's finally figured out his own goddamn name. Or half of it, at least. Which is still progress! "Tommy," Tubbo signs, adding emphasis to the last two letters. "Tom _my_." 

Tommy closes his eyes, sighing. 

"Tommy." Tubbo grins even more, grabbing his phone. 

**me** : oh my fucking god

 **me** : you did it! you finally did it! you said your name!

Tommy snorts, flipping him off. 

**tommy** : of course i said my name

 **tommy** : i'm a fast learner

 **me** : you are _not_

Tommy grins at him.

 **tommy** : i think i am

 **me** : it took you a year to sign your name, tommy

 **tommy** : that's fast for me, tubbo

Tubbo laughs so hard he swears that he might die. 

* * *

Tubbo finds them in his shirt pocket an hour later.


End file.
